


Zootopia rail book 1 (novel)

by Bug_53, ChooChoobob1212



Category: Emergency! (TV 1972), Zootopia (2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27927835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bug_53/pseuds/Bug_53, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChooChoobob1212/pseuds/ChooChoobob1212
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Zootopia rail book 1 (novel)

Based on Episode 1 of Choochoobob’s Zootopia Rail series. All OCs belong to him.  
~~~  
In a large railroad controller’s office, a middle aged black labrador retriever looked into his computer’s webcam and cleared his throat.  
“Hello,” he began, “I’m Bob Labrador, President and CEO of the Zootopia Railroad company. Ever since I inherited the railroad from my father, things have been, shall we say, interesting.”  
He was interrupted by a knock on the office door. “Sir? May I come in?” came a muffled voice. “It’s urgent.”  
“Yes, come in.”  
The door opened and in stepped Bob’s secretary, an alpaca named Jan Alpine. “There's been a train accident about 211 miles south of here, just outside of Bunnyburrow,” she explained.  
Bob was taken aback. “Any casualties?”  
“As of now, no, sir.”  
“What was its cargo?” Bob asked, concern in his voice.  
“Fifteen cars, sir. Two fully loaded with gasoline.”  
Bob shook his head. “Call the ZPD immediately,” he said firmly. “The longer we wait, the more dangerous it’ll get. If just one of those cars were to go off there’s no telling how many lives will be on the line.”  
Jan nodded. “Already on it, sir,” she answered, and she walked back out of the office.  
~~~  
Chief Bogo entered the bullpen and took his spot at the podium as the officers gave their usual reaction of stomping the floor.  
“Alright, alright, sit down all of you,” he ordered. “I’ve several items on the docket for today.” He looked to his notes. “Delgato, Higgins: Undercover in Sahara Square. Pennington, Snarlov: Meadowlands SWAT.” He cleared his throat. “Hopps, Wilde-” But at that moment, he was cut off by the loud ring of the telephone, and groaned. “Hold on.”  
The bunny and fox waited with curiosity as the cape buffalo took the call. Moments later, it ended and he returned his attention to them.  
“Hopps, Wilde: the BPD and BSD need assistance with a train derailment outside of Bunnyburrow. I’m sending you and five other officers to assist.”  
Judy’s eyes widened with dread at the mention of her former home. She stood up in the chair. “Ch-chief? I-”  
Bogo raised a hoof to silence her. “I fully intend to inform all local residents to start evacuating their burrows immediately,” he said firmly. “We want to minimize casualties as much as possible. Dismissed.”  
Judy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sir.” All of the doe’s old friends and relatives still lived in Bunnyburrow, including her parents. The thought of anything happening to them terrified her to no end. The two cops walked out of the building to their cruiser, ready to begin their long trip to the country.  
“Not exactly the family reunion you had in mind, eh, Carrots?” Nick remarked.  
Judy sighed. “Not at all.”  
The fox put an arm around her. “If it makes you feel any better, I know a good place your folks can stay. Y’know, should the need arise.”  
Judy gave an appreciative smile. “Thank you, Nick. That means a lot.”  
“Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from our time together on the force,” Nick said, “it’s that you should always be prepared for the worst, but still hold out hope for the best. That’s how I see it, anyway.”  
Judy silently nodded. It was one of those times where she was truly grateful to have Nick by her side.  
~~~  
Nick and Judy arrived at the county line, marked by the large welcoming sign. They weren’t quite sure what to expect, but were still rather surprised by the scene. The road had already been blocked off, and the land was covered with armored trucks and various kinds of military vehicles as far as the eye could see. Far off in the distance, one could also clearly see a giant plume of thick, black smoke rising from the ground. The bunny and fox approached with caution, catching the attention of a uniformed wild hare, with a shiny, star shaped sheriff's badge. The hare recognised Judy at once.  
“Well, as I live an’ breathe!” he exclaimed. “If it ain't Officer Hopps! Didn’t expect to see you an’ this…” He eyed Nick questionably. “Odd feller here.”  
“Good to see you, Cousin John,” sighed Judy. “I just wish it happened under better circumstances.”  
Nick looked at Judy, stunned. “You never told me Sheriff Savage was your cousin!”  
Judy shrugged. “Once-removed, on my mom’s side.” She turned back to John. “This is my partner, Officer Wilde.”  
“Mhm… Pleasure’s all mine,” the hare replied. “Well, your folks are waiting at the Command Post. C’mon, they’ll need you two for the briefing.”  
They arrived at the BPD Command Post in good time. Judy and Nick walked in to see several other officers, all from different precincts throughout Zootopia, as well as many reporters from across both the city and the burrows. As they managed to find their seats, a black labrador retriever entered the room, accompanied by an alpaca. They walked up and took their spot at the podium.  
“Thank you all for coming here so quickly,” he began. “Most of you probably know who I am, but for those who don’t, my name is Bob Labrador. I am the President and CEO of the Zootopia Railroad Company. I have gone through all of your profiles and have been in contact with all of your commanders, and have chosen you specifically in the event something like this were to happen.” He turned to the alpaca. “Jan Alpine, go ahead.”  
Jan took his place. “As you can see, in this footage taken from a USMC helicopter earlier today, it's not pretty.”  
Indeed it wasn’t. The room was soon filled with frightened whispers and muttering at the horrifying scene in the video. From within a huge cloud of smoke, one could make out the shapes and images of several mangled and overturned railcars, all piled in a massive heap. Among them were a number of large tanker cars. Many nearby buildings were also set ablaze by the accident, providing much of the smoke that hid everything from clear view. It was truly catastrophic.  
As the video came to its end, Bob took back the podium. “For those of you thinking that I’m going to be here in the Command Post all safe and sound, you’d be wrong,” he said firmly. “My father had me work for the railroad, getting my paws dirty before he handed it over to me. While I was growing up, he always taught me that, even if you are a big CEO, you should still be helping when things go wrong. Therefore, the two of you that I select are going down to the crash site with me to look for clues as to what happened. Those two are Officers Judith Hopps and Nicholas Wilde. I hope you two are ready for whatever happens because we are going to the site in 10 minutes. Any questions?”  
All the reporters came rushing to the front, cameras flashing. One of them, a donkey that many recognized as Jack Hasanine, was the first to get a word in. “Are you sure sending a fox, who is also an ex-con artist, into the crash site is a good idea?” he asked in a matter-of-factly sort of tone.  
Bob was not amused. “I’m sure the fine creatures of the ZPD will support me on it,” he replied. “I know it's only been a couple years, but he is still a part of the team here. No slander or libel should befall him. Is that understood?” His comment was only met with unintelligible muttering from the crowd. Regardless, he continued. “As for the rest of you with badges, you will all be protecting the roads and looking out for the residents of Bunnyburrow. Okay! Let's get this done. Dismissed.”  
With that, everyone began filing out of the room to take on their assignments. Bob called Judy and Nick back up. “Hopps, Wilde. If something were to happen to us while we are down there, don't worry; we have a SOCOM unit from the National Guard on standby to get us out of there.”  
~~~  
They arrived at the scene of the accident around noon, east of Bunnyburrow. Numerous emergency vehicles were already on the scene, including at least five fire trucks and four ambulances. The fire brigade was at their wits end trying to stop the blaze from spreading, but to little effect. Judy, Nick and Bob kept as safe a distance as they could, the bunny began to scope the area.  
“Alright, partner. Keep a lookout for any clues. Nick? Are you listening?”  
The fox was distracted by the frantic rescue operation nearby. “Huh? Oh, sorry. What, now?”  
Judy scowled. “I said, we need to check for clues.”  
“Right, right, check for bodies. Gotcha.”  
“Nick, you’re not helping!” the doe huffed.  
They searched around, looking for anything that might be of any significance. Suddenly, Nick’s ears perked as he spotted something. Partially buried within the gravel near a scorched slab of iron was a strange looking black box, one that appeared to be some sort of controller. He called Bob over as he uncovered it. “Say, Bob? Where exactly was this train headed?”  
The lab shrugged. “Normally, the accountants handle all the scheduling. A train this size would’ve been covered in the docket.”  
Nick presented his find. “Well, I found this. Any idea what function it serves?”  
Bob knew the device. “That is a black box; it takes record of everything that happens on the train,” he explained. “For example, when the engineer applies the brakes, what pressure the brakes are at, what notch the train is at, and fuel level. We will need it for the investigation, so hold on to it.”  
The fox did so. Pondering all of this, he went back to his partner. “Something’s off here, Carrots. How many cars did Jan say this thing was hauling?”  
“Fifteen, I think,” Judy said. Her ears perked as she noticed something else. One of the mangled tanker cars was uncomfortably close, a vault made of crumpled-up aluminum.  
Nick raised a brow. “Think it’ll explode?”  
Judy sighed. “Nick, ordinarily, I’d appreciate the biting commentary, but this is a very delicate situation, here.  
“I’m serious, Carrots. Here we are standing in an industrial minefield, yet not one of these containers has gone off?”  
“Yeah, I noticed that too. If it were headed for Bunnyburrow, the train’s serial number would’ve been listed in the Yardmaster’s schedule.”  
“And, judging by the angle, it’s a miracle not one of those cars went off like a firework. Otherwise, this whole place would’ve been a crater.”  
Bob had been overhearing their conversation and decided to step in. “Are you two saying this could’ve been sabotage?”  
Judy shook her head. “Something’s not adding up, Mr. Labrador. I don’t think we can chalk this up as being ‘just an accident.’ Especially when there’s no crew here to be found.”  
Judy reached for her radio. “Officer Hopps to Dispatch. Currently surveying the crash site. We still haven’t found any sign of a crew. Requesting-”  
She got no further. At that moment, the deafening sound of another locomotive’s horn blasted through all their ears. Everything seemed to happen at once, no one could clearly see what was going on. Nick desperately called out to his partner, fearing her safety. The sound of the horn was quickly replaced by the much worse sound of squealing metal grinding on metal. One of the nearby firefighters, a rabbit much like Judy, looked in their direction and shouted at the bunny cop to move away from the tracks. The doe only maybe got half a second of a glance at the firebuck before Nick tackled her to the ground out of the way.  
“Nick, wait! We have help the-”  
Too late, they all ducked in cover as the locomotive collided with the already massive wreck, filling the air with dust and shifting the debris all around again. Once the crash finally died away, everyone cautiously rose to their feet again.  
“Is everyone alright?” Bob called out.  
Judy recovered from her daze, then a look of worry struck her face. “There’s someone trapped under those cars!” she cried. “That firefighter! We have to save him!”  
“I’ll call the rest of the team right now!” Bob said, and sprinted off to do just that.  
Against Nick’s warnings, Judy moved in closer to the wreckage. She began frantically searching for any sign of life, calling out to the firefighter several times, but getting no response. Indeed, although she never liked to give up hope, Judy somehow knew deep inside that there was virtually no chance that the poor buck could have survived.  
Then, just as she was about to give up, she spotted the fallen firebuck’s helmet, sitting on the ground, poking out from underneath the battered metal. The first detail she noticed was the large engine number engraved on the front: 51.  
The doe slowly picked the helmet up, and brushed away the dust to reveal the name underneath. Her ears fell back and her paws trembled in disbelief at what it said.  
MICHAEL HOPPS  
“No…”  
Seeing his partner in distress, Nick kneeled down beside her. “Judy?”  
Paws still shaking, the bunny silently showed the fox the helmet. Nick’s face fell and he shook his head, unsure what to think. Switching gears, he began frantically digging at the gravel underneath the wreck toward the other side, and four other firefighters ran up to do the same. Nick’s mind kept racing. Maybe it’s not too late, maybe there’s still a chance, maybe…  
He stopped as he heard a small sound behind him, and turned back around to see his partner clutch the helmet tightly to her chest, tears forming in her eyes. Nick couldn’t stand it. He put his arms around the grieving bunny and held her close as she broke down.


End file.
